names and studies

Question 1

Tinbergen’s four “why?”s

Answer 1

Causation-Mechanism
Development-Ontogeny
Evolutionary history-Phylogeny
Function-Adaptive value

Question 2

ingredients of the optimality model

Answer 2

1) a series of choices to pick between, 2) a set of constraints within which the animal must operate, and 3) a currency by which success is measured.

Question 3

optimality model examples

Answer 3

patch use (dungflies /Parker, 1978/, MVT / Chanov, 1976/)
prey choice - optimal prey choice model (specialise/generalise) - European starling - Kacelnik; Great tit - Krebs - show preference

Question 4

Ideal Free Theory

Answer 4

Millinski - sticklebacks
Ideal free distribution - stable distribution when no one gains from moving.
Applicable to Parker’s duncflies - ideal free mates.
BUT does not take in account unequal ability.

Question 5

Economic defendability

Answer 5

Brown /territories/
Defending a resource has a cost, so pay off from having unique access to the resource must outweigh the cost.
expr. Golden-winged sunbird - Gill & Wolf
BUT exception - the type of currency results in alternative strategies - sharing territory - benefit of sharing a territory, sneakers and satellites

Question 6

Sexual selection

Answer 6

Darwin, 1971
Features that promote success in reproductive competition.
May be deleterious to survival.
Natural (viability) selection and sexual selection may act in opposition.

Question 7

Why sexual selection occurs

Answer 7

Trivers, 1972

Sexual selection occurs because of differences in gamete investment

Question 8

Fisher’s runaway process

Answer 8

Fisher, 1930
Benefits from being choose, heritable, attractiveness.
Positive feedback. Exacerbation of traits until they become bad for survival. Threshold
What causes it - genetic drift, sensory bias, Fisher’s own idea

Question 9

Handicap principle

Answer 9

Zahavi, 1975. Benefith of females being choose, heritable, viability
The male ornament is a handicap. Only hight quality males can afford the cost of production and maintenance of the handicap.
Resolving the two problems- strategic - more costly for low quality males; other forces maintain genetic diversity

Question 10

The parasite theory of sexual selection

Answer 10

Hamilton and Zuk, 1982

Host-parasite coevolution. Choosing the healthier mate